Conventional oil filters for vehicle engines, such as automotive internal combustion engines, typically include a filter media and a bypass valve that is actuated when the filter media becomes dirty and substantially plugged. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,066,391 to Faria on Nov. 19, 1991, which is hereby incorporated by reference, teaches such a device. One drawback with such devices is that once the bypass valve is opened, particulate debris that would normally be captured by the filter media is able to traverse the valve and re-enter the engine, leading to engine wear and eventual damage. However, forcing oil through a filter media has the drawback that once the filter media becomes plugged with particulate matter, not enough oil can get through the filter to effectively cool and lubricate the engine, leading to much sooner engine damage than if even dirty oil were allowed to circulate. Another drawback of such devices is that particulate matter, once captured on a leading side of the filter media, can be dislodged from the filter to return back to the engine once the bypass valve opens, since flow of the oil at that point changes from through the filter media to across the filter media.
Other such filters are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,711,872 to Jones et al. on Jan. 27, 1998; U.S. Pat. No. 6,068,762 to Stone et al. on May 20, 2000; U.S. Pat. No. 6,540,914 to Smith on Apr. 1, 2003; and U.S. Pat. No. 7,413,089 to Tidwell on Aug. 19, 2008, which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety. These devices suffer many of the same drawbacks as the Faria device.
Therefore, there is a need for a device that overcomes the drawbacks associated with the prior art.